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Democracy
E very day, my presidency is infused with Harvard history. I work in Massachusetts Hall, a sturdy brick building where John Adams rested his head and George Washington quartered his troops. I live in Elmwood, a stately home built by a loyalist to King …
Issue: March-April 2020
Synthetic Biology’s New Menagerie
In the summer of 2009, a team of Cambridge University undergraduates built seven strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli , one in each color of the rainbow. Red and orange carotenoid pigments were produced by inserting genes from plant pathogen Pantoea …
Issue: September-October 2014
On Not Going It Alone
How powerful is the United States , and how should it relate to the rest of the world? Is America a new version of the Roman Empire? These questions are increasingly debated around the world in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq. Some neoconservatives, …
Issue: July-August 2006
Students’ Teacher
As a teacher , George Dickey West ’72 lives “to learn something new every day.” He believes his profession requires “living with a clear head, without preconceptions”—which, he adds, “can be a challenge in the classroom.” He did not reach that classroom …
Issue: January-February 2013
From Borneo to Rodeo
D erring-do. Peter Ashton, a pioneer in the study of Asian tropical forests—particularly of the towering dipterocarps that dominated the canopy he investigated on foot in Borneo in the late 1950s, before they were largely felled—served as director of the …
Issue: January-February 2020
Greater Boston’s Season of “Social Trust”
In late May, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health assistant professor Joseph Allen put it bluntly: “This is going to be a very different summer.” Even as many parks and preserves that closed in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic began reopening …
Issue: July-August 2020
Christine Lagarde to Speak at Kennedy School
The first woman to lead the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde , will be the speaker at this year’s Harvard Kennedy School commencement ceremony on May 23, the school announced today. Lagarde, who replaced Dominique Strauss-Kahn as IMF …
Faust Receives Indian Welcome
Associate editor Elizabeth Gudrais reports from Mumbai: The world may be flat, with technology enabling robust international collaboration and commerce, President Drew Faust told an audience at the University of Mumbai today, alluding to Thomas Friedman’s …
Harvard Women’s Ice Hockey Investigation Finds No Evidence of Hazing Culture
Harvard Athletics Director Erin McDermott addressed the findings of an independent investigation into alleged abuse on the women's ice hockey team and announced forthcoming departmental changes in an email sent to members of the Harvard Athletics …
University People
Dean Dench Emma Dench Rose Lincoln/HPAC McLean professor of ancient and modern history and of the classics Emma Dench , the interim dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences during the current academic year, will assume that post on a regular basis …
Issue: May-June 2018
Reenacting Early Action
Starting this fall, students will again have the option of applying to the College under a nonbinding early-action program. In 2006, the College decided to eliminate early action for applicants as of the fall of 2007 and move to a single January 1 …
Issue: May-June 2011
The Day’s Events: Wednesday, May 28
Events for Wednesday, May 28, include: ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, with General Darren W. McDew and President Drew Faust. The ceremony will take place at 11:30 A.M. in Tercentenary Theatre. The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) will …
The Pulse of a New Medical Curriculum
When he found out he would spend his third year of medical school based at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, rather than rotating among hospital venues every few months, Babak Nazer knew he’d gain from having an ongoing group of physician mentors at the …
Issue: September-October 2006
Important Paper in Regenerative Biology Retracted
An important scientific paper in the field of stem-cell and regenerative medicine that identified a mechanism for awakening stem cells involved in healing in older mice has been retracted by its senior author, associate professor of stem-cell and …
Brevia
Cellist Celebrated The tenth annual Harvard Arts Medal will be conferred on internationally acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma '76, D.Mus. '91, during the annual Arts First weekend. The ceremony for Ma is scheduled for Saturday, May 8. His career and burgeoning …
Issue: March-April 2004